The 10 best Amazon Echo alternatives you can buy

Amazon Echo a truly exceptional device. The smart speaker is located in Amazon Alexa and capable of performing a variety of tasks. Also, with additional skills, Echo's skills are easily increased. If you actually want to use the Amazon offer, but with a smaller form factor (Amazon Echo Dot) or if you are looking for portability (Amazon Echo Tap), you can consult our article where we put all the Amazon smart speakers against each other. However, not everyone would like to use the Echo as a smart home speaker solution. Maybe you're looking for something more portable, or cheaper, or frankly speaking, something that looks (or sounds) better. Therefore, here are 10 fantastic Amazon Eco alternatives you can use:

1. Google Home

Google Home one of the best smart speakers you can get. Google Assistant has implemented smart speakers in almost all of Google and the remarkable capabilities speech recognition works very well . In fact, Google Home represents a major battle against Amazon Echo. You can use Google Home to perform a variety of activities, such as setting alarms, streaming music from music services like Spotify, Google Play Music (of course!) And more. The speaker has one rich list of commands and a lot of tricks too.

From a design point of view, I prefer the Google Assistant, because it seems to merge with the environment, instead of looking like a strange tube placed on the table in your living room. Also there quality of the sound much better in Google Home, but it actually varies from person to person; some people prefer the rich bass sound from Google Home, while others prefer the triple clear Amazon Echo .

Alternatively, if you're looking for something that comes in a smaller form factor, but still packs around the punch, the Google Home Mini may be of interest to you. a pretty solid smart speaker that comes with exceptional sound quality, a gorgeous but low-profile fabric outer shell and all the capabilities of the Google Assistant. Also, only $ 49 (non-U.S. purchase link).

On top of that, if you're looking for an intelligent speaker that offers what is probably the best sound quality of any smart speaker out there, take a look at Google Home Max, which is exceptionally good for audio and can easily get very loud while keeping still its clarity. quite expensive, and you can buy it for $ 399 from the Google Store.

Buy ($ 129) (Non-US purchase link)

2. Google Home Hub

At its Pixel 3 launch event, Google also launched Google Home Hub: Google's addition to the world of smart displays, and yes, if you're looking for a smart screen, Google Home Hub is the best you can get right now. For beginners, it looks fantastic. small, available in pleasant and soft colors and practically does not adapt to where you place it, actually a fundamental part of the design philosophy of Google with its "Home" speaker line.

In addition to this, Home Hub also comes with a 7-inch display that has been calibrated almost perfect by the company. In fact, if there is one thing everyone agrees on the Google Home hub, that the display is so beautiful that you can't complain. The Home Hub is also rich in technology: it has ambient light sensors that automatically adjust the brightness of the display so as not to be dazzled at night. In addition, it comes with the Google Assistant, which is certainly one of the best smart assistants available at the moment and definitely better than Alexa (found in Amazon Echo).

Google Home Hub doesn't have a camera, so if you're thinking of making video calls with this, well, you can't. However, this was a deliberate design choice by Google, so people would feel comfortable keeping the Home Hub in their bedrooms and private spaces in their homes as well.

Home Hub also features a new dashboard feature that shows you in summary your entire smart home, so you can easily control all your rooms, lights, speakers, cameras and locks from a single "hub". It's definitely a pretty nice smart display, and one of the best around.

Buy ($ 149)

3. Lenovo Smart Display

If you are looking for something that comes with a display, but not with Alexa, the Lenovo Smart Display is something you should definitely check out. The Lenovo Smart Display available in two variants. There is an 8-inch variant that comes with a 1280 800 resolution screen and a 10-inch variant with a Full HD screen so you can choose the one that best suits your needs.

In addition to this, smart displays come with Google Assistant and Chromecast support. Furthermore, thanks to the integrated camera, you can make video calls directly from your smart display with the integration of Google Duo. Having a camera on the smart display may not seem like the smartest thing to do, which is why Lenovo's smart display features a built-in kill-switch that physically covers the camera so you don't have to take it by surprise.

Lenovo's Smart Display equipped with a 2 2 microphone array so it can easily listen to you from across the room, and has 10W speakers so you can listen to your favorite music and videos simply by asking them to play them. One of the most popular uses of this smart display in a kitchen, where it can be used to show recipes with useful visual aids to guide you on your quest to cook that perfect meal.

If you are looking for a smart screen, you should definitely take a look at the Lenovo Smart Display.

Buy (Starts at $ 149.99)

4. Harman-Kardon Allure

If you don't like the reason why you are looking for alternatives to Amazon Echo because of the design of these smart speakers, let me introduce you to the Harman-Kardon Allure smart speaker. Unlike Echo, which presents a mostly functional industrial design, "Allure" has a very charming design with a beautiful semi-transparent body and lighting characteristics.

The Allure smart speaker comes with Alexa voice assistant, which means it has access to all the incredible Alexa skills you will have access to with Amazon Echo. The speaker comes with 4 far-field microphones for speech recognition, and it should be able to easily listen to you across the room, plus it has some amazing speakers – as you'd expect from a Harman-Kardon-built speaker. This is definitely the smart speaker to use if you are looking for something elegant and classy, ??but also at competitive prices.

Buy ($ 149, 95)

5. Apple HomePod

If you are an iOS user, the HomePod is probably the best speaker for you thanks to its obvious integration with iOS. HomePod is a high-quality smart speaker that offers audiophile-level audio quality and can even get quite loud. The speaker designed in a very similar way to the old Mac Pro, or the recently launched Echo Sub, but the lattice design looks really nice, and the tiny display at the top allows for extraordinary animations when Siri is activated.

Yes, the HomePod powered by Apple's smart assistant, Siri, and doesn't have the best track record to be useful when you need it. However, if most of your use case for a smart speaker is to listen to music on it, the HomePod won't let you down. Apple's audio design in the HomePod is simply excellent and the audio quality here is unlike any other. I highly recommend iPhone users to check the HomePod.

The HomePod has a six-microphone array for listening to voice commands, and while this lower than Amazon Echo, it doesn't hurt listening to voice commands at all. There is also support for multi-room audio playback, so if you have multiple HomePods, you can sync them and listen to music all over the house with ease.

Buy ($ 349)

6. Triby Smart Speaker

Triby is yet another smart speaker developed by Amazon's Alexa. Speaker battery powered laptop combines a number of features in a small, good-looking package. With Alexa integrated, you can perform tasks like asking for the weather, checking the news and doing a lot more. Plus, with the Triby app on your smartphone, you can do much more with your speaker. Triby can be mounted on your refrigerator (a feat I'm glad Echo can't perform, because honestly, it would be rather strange to look at), and using the mobile app, you can send doodles to the e-paper display on the speaker, change the settings and do much more.

Every time a new doodle is set on the Triby cardboard display, a small yellow flag comes out that acts as a warning that there is a new message, that something I really like, even if it seems new. Besides, Triby can be used as a portable Bluetooth speaker to listen to music or to make hands-free calls. Triby retails for $ 199, but currently available for $ 99 on Amazon.com, making it a steal.

Buy ($ 99)

7. Mycroft Mark 1

Not Sherlock's brother, no. This Mycroft is an artificial intelligence for everyone. Instead of going for the proprietary hardware, the creators of Mycroft created it on Raspberry Pi and Arduino, and added Natural Language Processing to understand your commands and perform the appropriate actions. Mycroft yes integrates Furthermore with all smart home devices you own, including Philips Hue devices, the SmartThings hub and more, so you can easily control your smart home devices with your voice.

Mycroft thought to be one open platform, which is why manufacturers have chosen to use the Raspberry Pi and Arduino boards. With the highly active community surrounding these hardware devices, it is quite clear that Mycroft's capabilities will only grow over time.

In addition, the company behind Mycroft is preparing to launch the Mycroft Mark 2 early and pre-order right now.

Buy ($ 179.99)

8. JBL Link Displays Smart Speaker

Yet another smart speaker that comes with a display, the JBL Link View isn't the prettiest smart display out there, especially if placed against the Google Home Hub, but it's definitely worth a try. The JBL Link view supported by Google Assistant so you can be sure it will be an amazing experience. Google Assistant doesn't have many third-party skills and functionality like those of Alexa on Amazon Echo, but much better in everyday use than Alexa.

There is an 8-inch HD display here, which is fine, since most smart displays under 10 inches have HD displays, which is great for watching videos or just checking recipes in the kitchen. Plus, with the built-in 5MP camera, you can easily make video calls whenever you want. In addition, the JBL Link view also has a physical camera shutter button that you can use to cover the camera for the times when you just need some privacy.

Buy ($ 249, 95)

9. Sonos One

Sonos also came out with its Alexa powered smart speaker, so if you are someone who is looking for Sonos' glitzy look with Alexa intelligences, Sonos One is a smart speaker that you should consider.

It's worth noting that older Sonos speakers (like Sonos Play: 1) supported Alexa, but they needed an Echo speaker in order to use Alexa. The Sonos One, on the other hand, comes with Alexa's built-in, so you can simply use it as an Alexa standalone speaker as well. Sonos One has two drivers that are capable of producing excellent sound, and equipped with a touch-sensitive top that you can touch to increase or decrease the volume, or even turn off the microphone for privacy, just like Amazon Echo. There is also multi-room support, and you can easily pair two Sonos One speakers to form a stereo pair with ease.

Buy ($ 198, 95)

10. Harman Kardon Invoke

If you are looking for an intelligent speaker that works well with Windows and Cortana in general, you should take a look at Harman Kardon Invoke. This is the smart speaker that Microsoft has announced for a while, and now here that anyone can buy it and use it. The Invoke features an array of far-field microphones, so it can easily hear you across the room. Since the speaker powered by Cortana and built in collaboration with Microsoft obviously works well with Microsoft's ecosystem of apps and services, and if you're someone who has invested in the Microsoft ecosystem, this is probably the best smart speaker for you.

Having been built by Harman-Kardon, the speaker offers surprising sound quality, thanks to the three direct radiant woofers, three tweeters and two passive radiators that the company has included in Invoke.

Buy ($ 64.48 on Amazon, $ 199.95 on Harman-Kardon)

Bonus: create your Smart Speaker

If you like DIY, you should consider building your smart speaker. Not too difficult, it doesn't cost much and will give you a great way to spend a weekend with a Raspberry Pi, a soldering iron and your laptop to configure the smart assistant. In addition, you can install both Google Assistant and Alexa, as we did, and use whatever you want when you want. If this looks like something you'd like to do, you should take a look at our detailed video on building your smart speaker. incorporated below. If watching the video doesn't seem fun, you can also consult our detailed article in which we explain everything about how to build your smart speaker.

Use these fantastic Amazon Eco alternatives

If Amazon Echo isn't the smart speaker you want, you can easily choose a smart speaker from this list. I have tried to include speakers of various types in this list, so no matter what you are looking for, I wish you to find something that suits your needs. If you only need Amazon Echo in a smaller format, you should definitely check out Amazon Echo Dot and Tap devices; and if that's not the case, you can choose from any of the options in this article.

In addition, I have struggled for quite some time with the idea of ??including the Facebook Portal smart display on this list, and I have decided not to include it because I am not comfortable advising anyone to put a proprietary camera. Facebook in their home. This is just a really terrible idea, and I won't condone it. That said, if you're optimistic about getting a Facebook-owned smart camera that, by the way, can follow you around the room, here's a link.

As always, I'd like to know your views on Amazon Echo, Alexa's capabilities and the devices I've included on this list. Also, if you know of any other fantastic Alexa alternatives, please let us know in the comments section below.